


I Was Lost Without You

by KingFarbauti



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: FAHC, Fake AH Crew, GTA AU, Gen, brownRIP, hints of mentally ill Ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 12:53:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7223113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingFarbauti/pseuds/KingFarbauti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Request: Ray leaves Achievement Hunter</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Was Lost Without You

There had been a time when all of them questioned whether or not they were in fact immortal, as so many superstitious idiots had claimed them to be; too many close calls, too many nights gathered around second-rate take out dinners asking each other ‘ _how did we survive that?_ ’, too many reckless moments where all accounts of ‘giving a shit’ had left them completely in the wake of frenzied chaos. Chaos they had started.

Who would have known that mortality would come for one them so simply, almost bitterly? Who could have known? It was so mediocre, at best, that it hadn’t even been an afterthought.

If anyone would have been the first to go, all bets were placed on Gavin: the Fool of the group, Geoff’s Golden Boy, who said ‘ _oops_ ’ more often than anything else. _Nobody_ would have even thought to glance in Ray’s direction—nobody would have dared. Their prized sniper, the shooter who never missed his mark, the boy from New York who handled guns twice his size so casually, almost effortlessly.

Nobody would have thought it would be something so absurdly normal as appendicitis.

It almost made it worse, in a way; with all of the dangerous things they did on a daily basis, the thing that inevitably took one of them down was a ruptured appendix that hadn’t been treated in time. It had been laughed off, in the beginning. The abdominal cramps coupled with jokes of ‘ _too much bad pizza._ ’

Even when Geoff had begun to grow concerned, in his own callous way, barking at Ray to “Go to the doctor, asshole!”, the sniper had shrugged it off, “It’s probably nothing. I’ll take some painkillers before bed.” He simply continued to play his hot pink DS, and that was that.

Of all the things, it hadn’t been some heist gone wrong. No retaliation from a rival gang, no reckless driving incident, no lucky shot by the police. It was just a sickness, and nothing more.

It was amazing how quickly those sorts of things could sneak up on you. Even more amazing, how paranoid it made everyone that was left in your wake. Gavin second-guessed every cough caused by a poor intake of breath, and the whooping spasm of his diaphragm set Michael’s nerves to edge. Jack quietly left vitamins where she knew Geoff would find them, and Geoff quietly took them.

Ryan was less cautious, less careful. Spiteful, challenging the world, grieving in his own way. He refused to wear a jacket when he stayed out until all hours on chilly nights, he took purposefully long walks on rainy days while refusing an umbrella. It infuriated Geoff to no end. It almost seemed disrespectful, but any sharp intake of breath that preluded to an oncoming lecture was met by a razor sharp glare that made the old ringleader think twice, and think better.

So no one said anything.

There was an uneasy muteness that befell all of them for an uncomfortable amount of time, after Ray was buried; a quiet funeral with an audience of five, gathered around an unmarked tombstone. The only burial one could give to a boy from New York with no family, and no name. There was only the iconic engraving of a sniper rifle, the only indicator that someone had been buried at all.

It wasn’t until they attempted some lazy robbery a few weeks later, desperate for any sense of normalcy, when the cops around them began dropping like flies with no word or warning. Bewildered, they were only greeted by an almost comically short man, after the dust had settled; a painfully normal sniper rifle strapped to his back, and a fierce look of determination etched into his features.

“Let me join your crew!” He barked. There was an attempt at confidence, but the subtle shake beneath his words was hard for Ryan to miss. It made him smirk beneath the mask.

The others must have caught the amusement in Ryan’s eyes, after a wary glance—it took so little to set The Vagabond off, these days. Entertained by the notion, they allowed the mystery sniper to plead his case and continue. He only repeated himself, just as boldly as the first time. “Let me join your crew!”

It was a silent standoff for what felt like hours, approaching sirens wailing in the distance as backup was sent for the fallen officers. Every second of no answer, and no reaction, only chipped away at the sniper’s confidence, and he visibly began to wilt little-by-little.

His shoulders sank completely when Geoff ultimately turned, and simply walked away. He looked crushed, standing slack-jawed in disbelief. Michael would have outright laughed at any other time. Jack gave the young man a sympathetic look, and seemed on the edge of trying to reason with Geoff--though, before anyone could do anything, the ringleader stopped to give an impatient look over his shoulder. “Well hurry up, asshole, I don’t have all day!”

It was a moment of comic relief they all needed terribly.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, among the many voices he tried so hard to ignore, Ryan distinctly heard a familiar sarcastic lilt mutter out, “ _You’re welcome._ ”

**Author's Note:**

> They only requested that Ray leave Achievement Hunter... they never specified how.


End file.
